Venice in Two Days: Our Tried and True Itinerary
If you read much of my blog, you know that 99% of the time we’re traveling as a family (which is my all-time favorite thing to do).
However, VERY occasionally, my husband and I will sneak away on a quick trip (just the two of us), which is how we ended up visiting Venice for 2 days as a couple.
If you’re looking for one of the most unique city breaks in Europe, Venice is an AMAZING choice.
Literally just moments after stepping off the ferry from the airport, my jaw dropped. The canals and buildings are just gorgeous, and it really feels like you’ve stepped into a fairytale.
And the great thing is that if you’re short on time and need to see Venice in just two days, you totally can!
Steal our tried-and-true Venice two-day itinerary that includes both popular tourist hot spots, along with unique hidden gems and cultural experiences that you can’t miss (and that you probably won’t hear about elsewhere).
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🇮🇹 IN A RUSH? CHECK OUT OUR VENICE, ITALY FAVORITES:
✨ WHERE TO STAY IN VENICE:
🛏️ 😍: APARTMENT WITH GORGEOUS CANAL VIEWS: We enjoyed the Airbnb we stayed in, however, if we did it again I'd choose this place instead. This affordable apartment is located in a quiet area of Venice with an ariel view of the canals. That canal view would have been the cherry on top to an already perfect 2 days in Venice.
✨ OUR FAVORITE TOURS/EXCURSIONS:
🛶 LEARN TO ROW IN THE VENICE CANALS: We had the chance to learn very basic Venetian rowing techniques and ask every question we could think of about the history of rowing, sport rowing and the culture of gondoliers today (lots of drama there, let me tell you...).
🎵 INTIMATE OPERA EXPERIENCE MOVING FROM ROOM TO ROOM IN A BEAUTIFUL PALACE: We weren't sure we'd enjoy the opera, but Musica a Palazzo is the perfect introductory opera experience and was possibly my favorite thing we did in Venice. It's a very intimate experience where you can get as close as one foot from the actors and you can really see and appreciate their vocal power.
✨ ST. MARK'S CAMPANILE: I love a good view and the view from St. Mark's Campanile is a stunning 360 ° view of all of Venice.
🏰 SMALL GROUP DOGES PALACE & ST. MARK'S BASCILICA TOUR: We didn't take this tour, but we did visit the Doge's Palace! It was great to get a glimpse of history by walking the beautiful halls of a building dating back to the 1300s 😮 and this tour will give you insights that we missed out on.
✨ HOW WE SAVE MONEY ON OUR RENTAL CARS:
🚗 ECONOMY BOOKINGS CAR RENTAL: Any bit you can save on your car rental is worth it! Our go-to car rental search engine is Economy Bookings.
📸 Tours/Excursions: Viator & Get Your Guide
🚕 Airport Transfers with Car Seats: Welcome Pickups
👉 Travel Strollers: Zoe Traveler & Zoe Double
🍼 Baby Carriers: Tula Carriers, Wildride Hip Carriers
📱 International Data Phone eSIM: Airalo
🚗 Cheap Rental Cars: Economy Bookings
🏠 Accomodations: Booking,Expedia,VRBO,Airbnb
🌎 Travel Insurance: World Nomads
Are 2 Days in Venice Enough?
Definitely! I think two days in Venice is the perfect amount of time to really get a feel for the city without being rushed.
With one day, you’ll hit most of the tourist hotspots, but with two days, you can sneak in both some hidden gems and what ended up being two of our favorite experiences of the trip (I’m looking at you, gondolier rowing class and opera 👀).
Best Time of Year To Spend Two Days in Venice
Like most of Europe, the busiest and most expensive time of year to visit Venice is July and August.
For great weather, fewer crowds (still plenty of crowds though), and slightly lower prices, I recommend visiting from May to early June or September to early October.
We visited Venice the third week of May and had the best weather, which was sunny and warm, and we only needed a light, long-sleeve shirt in the mornings (or a light puffer if you’re Italian 😝).
Map of Our Itinerary to See Venice in 48 Hours
*Use this interactive map to see the route of our 2-day Venice itinerary. Day one is in red and day two is in blue. Click on the full-screen icon in the top right corner to have this map open in your own Google Maps app or click on the arrow in the top left corner to see a pullout list of all points on the map*
Venice 2 Day Itinerary: At A Glance
Below is a quick synopsis of our 2-day Venice itinerary, but if you keep reading, I’ll go into detail for every stop along the way!
Day 1 Venice Itinerary:
City highlights, bridges, traditional lunch, Doge’s Palace and gorgeous views.
MORNING:
- St. Mark’s Tower (Campanile): Soak in gorgeous 360° views of the city
- Bridge of Sighs: Snap a pic with one of the most iconic Venetian bridges
- Mozart’s Residence: Stroll past the residence that Mozart stayed in on a trip to Venice
- Ponte dell’Accademia: Take in the stunning views of the Grand Canal
LUNCH:
- Osteria al Squero: Taste the local cicchetti with views of a gondola boat yard
- Gelateria il Doge: Try delicious local flavors like Crema di Doge (candied orange and chocolate)
AFTERNOON:
- Grand Canal Vaporetto Ride: Relax on a boat ride down the Grand Canal with stunning canal views
EARLY EVENING:
- Doge’s Palace: Get a taste of history by wandering through the opulent rooms of Doge’s Palace, dating back to the 1300s
Day 2 Venice Itinerary:
Unique local experiences like learning to row like a gondolier and the perfect intro to the opera, plus more bridges and gorgeous views.
MORNING:
- Rowing Class at Venice on Board: Learn to row like the gondoliers (highlight of the trip for us!)
LUNCH:
- Birreria Zanon: Sit down at a local hotspot with SO many yummy chicchetti options for lunch
AFTERNOON:
- Rialto Bridge (Ponte di Rialto): See the first and oldest stone bridge to span the Grand Canal
- I Tre Mercanti Tiramisù: Pick from a multitude of delicious tiramisu options (tiramisu was invented in the Venice area!)
- Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo: Climb the beautiful, spiral staircase for stunning views of Venice
- Traghetto Across the Grand Canal: Take a quick ride on a traghetto (public taxi gondola) across the Grand Canal and back at two different stops (good alternative to an expensive gondola ride)
EVENING:
- Opera at Musica a Palazzo: Don’t dismiss this immediately if you don’t think you’ll like the opera. This is an amazing opera experience for first-timers in an intimate venue inside a palace, where you move from room to room for each act (this was a total highlight for us-we recommend seeing the comedy, Barber of Seville). I wasn’t sure we’d enjoy it, but we loved it!
Venice Two-Day Itinerary
Below is my in-depth, tried-and-true 2-day Venice itinerary that I created from hours and hours of research.
It has all of the traditional must-see sights in Venice, but it also has some great places for lunch that seemed to be local hotspots and some hidden gem activities that I HIGHLY recommend.
Overall, we were very happy with our 48 hours in Venice and would change almost nothing with our itinerary. However, the ONE thing I would do differently is book dinner reservations 1-2 weeks in advance.
I’d done a lot of research looking into dinner options, but just waited until the last minute to make dinner reservations (1-2 days before), and by then it was unfortunately too late.
For this reason, I don’t include dinner spots in this itinerary, but I do include and highly recommend the two places we stopped for lunch!
Venice Itinerary: Day 1
City highlights, bridges, traditional lunch, Doge’s Palace and gorgeous views.
1. Soak in 360° Views from St. Mark’s Campanile (Bell Tower)
If you’re like me and love a good view, I highly recommend starting your first day in Venice by soaking in the views from St Mark’s Campanile (bell tower).
The tower offers STUNNING 360° views of all of Venice with the beautiful terracotta clay roof tiles stretching on and on, accentuated by church towers and waterways. It’s just gorgeous, I loved it.
St. Mark’s Campanile is the highest point in Venice at 323 feet, located right in the hustle and bustle of St. Mark’s Square, but up in the tower, it’s quiet, and the crowds beneath you are quickly forgotten.
I could’ve have stayed atop the tower for hours looking over every inch of the city, but alas, we left after about 40 minutes (which flew by!).
You must have pre-booked tickets, and you reach the top of the tower via a lift (no stairs).
If you haven’t booked tower tickets ahead of time, you can book them on the spot via a QR code on a sign in front of the tower entrance, assuming there are timeslots available (there’s no ticket booth),
When we visited in mid-May, we booked our tickets via the QR code on the spot and then walked right into the tower; however, I generally recommend booking in advance, especially from June to August.
If we went again, I’d be sure to book ahead of time to ensure we didn’t miss our chance because this really was a highlight for me.
You can book directly via the St. Mark’s Basilica website here. Choose the ‘single experience tickets’ then ‘bell tower’.
The bell tower is not included with the general Doge’s Palace or St. Mark’s Basilica entrance ticket.
If you want a combo bell tower/Doge’s Palace or St. Mark’s Basilica ticket, I recommend booking via Viator (my favorite site to book tours/excursions). You can research all of the different tour options and read real reviews before you book.
The tower bells ring three times a day at noon, 2:00 pm, and 5:00 pm.
Personally, I wouldn’t want to be up there when the bells ring because they are just a few feet above your head, and it would be so loud.
But if that sounds fun to you, be sure to book your time slot accordingly!
2. Snap a Pic with the Bridge of Sighs
Right around the corner from St. Mark’s Campanile is the iconic Bridge of Sighs.
The Bridge of Sighs connects the Doge’s Palace with the prison next door.
Although the bridge was built in the 1600s, its name was popularized in 1812 by the poet Lord Byron. As the prisoners crossed from the palace to the prisons, they sighed as they looked out the window to get their last view of the city.
The closest view of the Bridge of Sighs is Ponte della Paglia here on Google Maps. This is where we viewed the bridge from, and we also went down below the bridge to snap a picture with fewer people around.
You can also see the Bridge of Sighs from Ponte de Canonica, which is here on Google Maps.
If you want to walk through the Bridge of Sighs, you’ll need to visit Doge’s Palace; however, the inside of the bridge is just a dark tunnel with very small holes to peep through without much of a view.
3. Stroll Past Mozart’s Residence
A super quick stop right along your route is a building that Mozart briefly stayed in while visiting Venice.
The residence is located right along a beautiful canal with a plaque on the side of the building indicating that Mozart stayed there.
Venice has so much amazing history that it’s fun to know the exact spot that someone as influential as Mozart has stood before.
I wouldn’t go out of my way to see this (unless you’re a huge Mozart fan) but it was a fun thing to see along the way since it was right on our way to Ponte dell’Accademia.
4. Take in Stunning Grand Canal Views From Ponte dell’Accademia
The bridge Ponte dell’Accademia is one of the few wooden bridges in Venice, and it has absolutely stunning views of the Grand Canal.
From atop the bridge, you see the gorgeous buildings lining the Grand Canal and can observe the hustle and bustle of the water taxis, vaporettos, and gondolas.
It’s really lovely. Although this is a popular sunset spot, we visited before lunch and were very happy with the view.
5. Taste Chicchetti at Osteria al Squero With Gondola Boatyard Views
Just a 5-minute walk from Ponte dell’Accademia was our lunch stop at Osteria al Squero. Osteria al Squero is a buzzing, local hot spot directly across from a functioning gondola boat yard.
They serve local cicchetti, polpette, and tramezzini. Cicchetti are bite-sized slice of bread with various toppings ranging from seafood, meat, and even vegetarian options.
Polpette are deep-fried meatballs and tramezzinni are crustless, white-bread sandwiches filled to the brim with toppings (they give Uncrustables vibes if you’re coming from the US).
A lunch stop here is a great way to get a feel for a typical, quick Venetian lunch, and you may even get to see some gondolas being repaired across the way if you’re lucky.
They only cost a couple of euros each and make a great meal when picking out multiple to try. I recommend picking out loads of different ones to share and even picking a few you’re not sure if you will like, because you may just be surprised!
Osteria al Squero had a line out the door when we visited for lunch on a Saturday, which had us feeling intimidated at first. However, the line moved very quickly.
One word of caution is that if you take your food to go (there is limited indoor seating) BEWARE of the seagulls (and that’s a Venice warning in general).
A seagull swooped down out of nowhere and stole an entire chiccetti of ours while spilling our drink in the process. It was insane.
The guidance we received from locals after this experience was to keep our food as covered as possible if eating on the go (for example, if you’re eating a pastry, keep it in the bag except for when taking a bite).
6. Get Gelato With Yummy Local Flavors at Gelateria il Doge
Just a 9-minute walk from our lunch stop on the way to where we got on the vaporetto (the next point on the itinerary) is a yummy stop for gelato called Gelateria il Doge.
I’ll be honest with you- you can probably get gelato just about anywhere in Venice and be happy with your experience.
However, we chose to stop at Gelateria il Doge because they have some delicious homemade local flavors, such as Crema di Doge (candied orange and chocolate), and it was great!
7. Soak in the Views and Relax on a Vaporetto Boat Ride Down the Grand Canal
One of my favorite, most relaxing things we did was a vaporetto ride down the entire length of the Grand Canal.
A vaporetto is a large, public water bus that runs the length of the Grand Canal and around the island. Taking a ride on it is the perfect afternoon activity to give your feet a rest and enjoy some gorgeous views.
Vaporetto lines 1 and 2 are both great for a scenic ride down the Grand Canal.
Line 1 has sixteen stops along the Grand Canal, making it easy to hop on and off wherever you’d like. However, I recommend riding the entirety of the canal by getting on at the top at the Piazzale Roma stop and getting off at the end at the San Marco stop for a full scenic sail of the Grand Canal.
We took Line 1 from the Piazzale Roma stop to the San Marco (St. Mark’s Square) stop, and the ride took about 45 minutes.
I know that sixteen stops sound like a lot, but each stop is actually shockingly quick and efficient. You can see the official Line 1 vaporetto route here.
Line 2 is another route that goes the entirety of the Grand Canal, but has half as many stops as Line 1, making it a quicker ride. You can see the official Line 2 vaporetto route here.
As I mentioned, whether you are taking Line 1 or Line 2, I recommend hopping on at the Piazzale Roma vaporetto stop because it’s the first stop, so you’re more likely to have your choice of seat, plus it’s at the top of the Grand Canal, so you can enjoy a ride down the entirety of the canal.
I’ve done a lot of canal boat rides in Europe, and this one in Venice is BY FAR my favorite.
Vaporetto tickets are inexpensive and can be purchased in single or multi-day increments. We just chose the least-expensive, 75-minute ticket option since we only planned to ride the vaporetto once.
However, if you want to hop on and off whenever you’d like and use the vaporetto more as a form of public transportation, then I recommend buying one of the multi-day passes.
❗🎟️ CLICK HERE TO SEE VAPORETTO TICKET OPTIONS 🎟️❗
An alternative to the vaporetto is a more intimate tour of the Grand Canal with a local guide in one of the beautiful wood-sided motor boats that frequent the Venetian canals 😍.
I REALLY wanted to take a ride in one of these gorgeous, wood-sided motorboats, but we decided to allot our money to our other activities in Venice instead.
But if you have it in your budget, I highly recommend booking this tour on a motor boat down the Grand Canal because they are just the prettiest boats ever, and you’ll gain local insights that we didn’t get with the vaporetto ride.
🚤✨ CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT AN INTIMATE, 1.5-HOUR GRAND CANAL MOTOR BOAT TOUR ✨🚤
8. Explore Doge’s Palace, Which Dates Back to the 1300s
We ended our first day in Venice by taking a self-guided tour of the Doge’s Palace.
The palace was the residence of the Doge (the elected government leader of Venice) and was built first as a wooden fortress in the 800s AD and later built in the 1300s into the gorgeous building that stands today.
There are multiple beautiful rooms you get to walk through, all gorgeously decorated with stunning ceilings and fresco paintings.
It’s amazing to think of the history that has walked these halls over the last hundreds and hundreds of years.
We weren’t sure at first if we were going to tour the palace, but I’m glad we did, and I definitely recommend it.
We booked our tickets for 5:00 PM when most of the crowds in the palace had dispersed for the day. There were still other people visiting, but it didn’t feel crowded at all.
From what I’ve read (and seen) the busiest time to visit the Doge’s Palace is from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm, when most day trippers and large guided tours are visiting the city.
We spent about 1.5 hours in the Doge’s Palace, and we were walking pretty quickly through.
If you want to get more insight into the history of the palace and the architecture (which we missed out on) I recommend booking this private, 2-hour guided tour of the Doge’s Palace.
It has rave reviews on Viator and would be the perfect length of tour. Or, rather, you could book a combo tour of the Doge’s Palace and St. Mark’s Basilica (not private).
✨ CLICK HERE TO CHECK OUT THE PRIVATE, 2-HOUR GUIDED TOUR OF THE DOGE’S PALACE ✨
Venice Itinerary: Day 2
Unique local experiences like learning to row like a gondolier and the perfect intro to the opera, plus a local-hotspot for lunch and more bridges and gorgeous views.
1. Learn How To Row Like a Gondolier
We started off our second day in Venice with a private 1.5-hour gondolier rowing class– it was amazing!
We learned so much about the history of rowing in Venice, and it helped us gain such an appreciation for the city and its history.
For hundreds of years, rowing was the lifeblood of Venice and the most efficient way to navigate the city.
It’s not just the gondoliers of today that row this way; it’s how rowing has always been done in Venice since at least 1094 AD!
The rowing that most people are familiar with is done sitting down, facing backwards, with two paddles.
However, in Venice, a special rowing technique was created to more easily navigate the narrow, shallow canals.
The Venetian technique has rowers standing up, facing forward, and rowing with just one oar resting in a special wooden holder, and most of the effort is exerted through the legs rather than the arms.
The rowing class is taught by Venice on Board, a local organization created to keep the art of rowing alive by teaching rowing to both locals and visitors and also dedicated to restoring old boats that would otherwise be lost.
We spent 1.5 hours having a great time chatting and learning the very basics of Venetian rowing on the quiet canals far from St. Mark’s Square.
We asked every question we could think of about not only the history of rowing in Venice but also sport rowing and the culture behind the gondoliers today (there’s a lot of fascinating drama).
It was a private experience with just my husband and me, and it was definitely a highlight of our 2 days in Venice.
If you’re looking for a unique experience in Venice that you’ll remember forever, I definitely recommend booking the rowing class we took in Venice.
🚣♀️✨ CLICK HERE TO SEE THE ‘LEARN TO ROW LIKE A GONDOLIER IN VENICE’ CLASS 🚣♀️
2. Eat More Chicchetti at Birreria Zanon (a local hotspot)
Our lunch at Birreria Zanon was my favorite food experience of our two days in Venice. It’s located just a short walk from our rowing lesson, in BY FAR, the most local-feeling area of Venice we visited.
Our rowing instructor recommended any of the places to eat along this canal (and I actually heard from another local that the restaurants along the canal that Birreria Zanon is on are the place to go).
Bierreria Zanon is a small chicchetteria with tables both inside and along the canal. The chicchetti selection was massive and delicious. There were so many different options with either fish, meat, or veggie toppings.
This really felt like a local hotspot and a total hidden gem. Stopping here was the perfect lunch after our rowing lesson.
3. See Rialto Bridge: the First and Oldest Stone Bridge to Cross the Grand Canal
Rialto Bridge is a beautiful, white stone bridge that was the first permanent bridge to cross the Grand Canal in 1588.
Today, Rialto Bridge is one of only four bridges that cross the Grand Canal and is widely regarded as the most beautiful bridge.
There is a middle walkway up the bridge, lined with shops, and two outer walkways with beautiful views of the Grand Canal.
We crossed the bridge, took in the views, and snapped a picture down in front of it.
You’ll also get a great view of the bridge from the water if you take either the vaporetto ride or the wooden motor boat tour down the Grand Canal that I talked about on day one of this itinerary.
4. Try the Tiramisu at I Tre Mercanti
When in Venice, you must try tiramisu. Tiramisu was invented in the Veneto region of Italy (a large northeastern state) and is most commonly attributed to the city of Treviso, which is very close to Venice.
You’ll find tiramisu on almost all dessert menus in the city, but there is one place dedicated to just tiramisu called i Tre Mercanti.
They make classic tiramisu fresh in their shop every day, plus other interesting flavors like pistachio and Nutella. It’s located in a picturesque area of Venice, close to many small bridges and cute shops, and just a short walk from St. Mark’s Square.
We visited i Tre Mercanti two different times, but unfortunately, the first time they weren’t quite open, and the second time they had sold out for the day.
We got tiramisu with dinner on a different night that was also delicious, but I wish we could have tried this one as well!
So, I’ve placed a stop to i Tre Mercanti smack dab in the middle of day two so that you can for sure get a taste (unlike us!).
I Tre Mercanti is open every day from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm, but they do sell out towards the end of the day, so I recommend visiting earlier rather than later.
5. Climb Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo For More Beautiful Venice Views
Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo is a beautiful staircase commissioned in 1499 by the owner of the connected palace.
The stone, spiral staircase is impressive on its own; however, it also has a viewing platform at the top offering beautiful views of Venice.
This tower is not nearly as tall as St. Mark’s Campanile, so it offers a lower, more intimate view of Venice.
If you’re someone who loves a good view, I definitely recommend visiting Palazzo Contarini del Bovolo.
The tower is open from 10:00 am to 5:00 pm most days of the month; however, there are some days with random closures, so I recommend checking their website in advance.
Tickets cost €9 each and can be purchased on their website here. Tickets are only available for one month at a time, and they open up ten days before the next month starts.
We visited in mid-May and were able to purchase our tickets onsite; however, that may not be a great idea in busier months like June through August.
6. Cross the Grand Canal in a Traghetto (Public Gondola Ferry)
An alternative to a traditional gondola ride is the traghetto, a public gondola ferry that is used for quick crossings of the Grand Canal.
For centuries, traghettos were an essential part of Venetian life because, for a long time, the Rialto Bridge was the only permanent bridge crossing the Grand Canal, so crossing on the gondolas was very common.
The traghetto ride is short and sweet, carries multiple passengers at a time, and costs only 2 euros per person (cash only and exact change is preferred).
Click here to see a map of the six traghetto crossings in Venice. You can also zoom in on Google Maps to find the small, dotted lines going directly across the Grand Canal- those are traghetto routes.
Keep in mind that the traghetto is very different from the traditional, 30-minute gondola ride with fancy chairs down the narrow canals of Venice that you can book.
However, the traghetto is MUCH cheaper and a unique experience that makes you feel like you’re stepping back in time.
We took the traghetto from near St. Mark’s Square (station is here on Google Maps) across the Grand Canal to the Dogana Station (here on Google Maps). It’s a very quick ride, just a couple of minutes long.
7. Experience the Opera in a Beautiful Palace
I wouldn’t call myself a fan of opera, and I’m pretty darn sure I’d never been to the opera, but once I learned that the first public opera house was located in Venice, I knew we should maybe give it a try (when in Venice, right?).
I was worried we wouldn’t like it, but we found the perfect introduction to opera at Musica a Palazzo.
Musica a Palazzo is an intimate opera experience that moves from room to room in a 15th-century palace.
It’s a small cast of 4-5 people plus a three-piece accompaniment, and you can be as close as one foot away from the actors- it’s amazing. I immediately gained an appreciation for their singing because you can so easily feel their power being so close!
Musica a Palazzo performs three different operas throughout the week (one per night): Barber of Seville (comedy), La Traviata (tragedy), and Rigoletto (tragedy).
When purchasing your tickets, click on the day to see which opera will be performed. You can purchase tickets here.
Tickets can sell out weeks in advance, as it’s quite a small group of people, so I highly recommend booking as early as you can.
We almost didn’t get to go because they were sold out, but they thankfully had a last-minute cancellation that opened up two spots. Don’t be like us and be sure to book!
We opted for Barber of Seville as we felt that a comedy would be a good introduction to the opera, and I’m so glad we did. It was so fun, funny, and ended up being my favorite experience of the trip.
At intermission, they offer a complimentary glass of prosecco, wine, soda, or fruit juice, and there is a small balcony you can step out on with gorgeous views of the Grand Canal lit up at night.
🎵🎟️ CLICK HERE TO CHECK PRICES FOR OPERA TICKETS AT MUSICA A PALAZZO 🎟️🎵
After this amazing experience, it really made me want to see an opera on the big stage at Teatro La Fenice (an absolutely gorgeous opera house in Venice) or at least visit the inside. If you have more time, I recommend adding that to your itinerary as well.
And that is our tried-and-true Venice two-day itinerary! We LOVED our time in Venice and are so grateful we did more than a day trip to the city.
If you have any questions about our itinerary, be sure to let me know in the comments below. I’ll be sure to get back to you.
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